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THE
WORSENING VIOLENCE IN SOMALIA LEADS UN TO INCREASE ITS ASSISTANCE TO
REFUGEES: 11/01/08
(MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 11
January 2007 -- As thousands of Somalis try to escape a
degenerating security situation, the UN has expanded its efforts to aid those
forced to abandon their homes.
Nearly
40,000 people have fled the capital Mogadishu in recent weeks, bringing the
total number of those displaced by the ongoing fighting since the end of last
October to over 294,000, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
Some
1,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who left their homes in the 1990s have
been given 24 hours to vacate a compound of the Mogadishu polytechnical college
where they have been living, but have not been provided with an alternative
place to settle.
The UN
World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners have supplied monthly food rations
to nearly 200,000 people along the corridor between Mogadishu and the near-by
town of Afgooye, where many people have fled.
The
agency’s programme in the capital is now fully operational, providing 50,000
meals a day through its 10 kitchens to vulnerable people trapped in Mogadishu.
Clashes
between the Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces on one
side and anti-Government elements on the other – both in Mogadishu and in
other regions of the country – are contributing to a worsening of the security
condition.
In the
capital, fighting erupted in areas where Ethiopian troops were conducting a
house-to-house weapons search, while elsewhere, more than one dozen civilians
lost their lives when a security operation was held in an area where thousands
of IDPs sought refuge.
The UN
is particularly concerned about the rising number of incidents targeting
humanitarian organizations, such as the kidnappings of staff, invasions and
looting of non-governmental organization (NGO) facilities and warehouses.
On his
recent two-day mission to the Puntland region, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator
in Somalia has stressed that safety guarantees are crucial for humanitarian
workers, underscoring the key role of local authorities and communities in
ensuring their safety.
Last
month, the Security Council called on all sides in Somalia to use peaceful means
to consolidate peace in the country. In a statement, the 15-member body urged
“all Somali parties to reject violence and… to enter into substantial
dialogue aimed at achieving a full and all-inclusive national reconciliation.”
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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